More evidence for the fact that the choice between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi is, as Pamela Geller memorably put it last week, “a battle between a wolf and a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Still, the situation in Iran may be moving beyond Mousavi to larger change. The Islamic Republic may not fall, but it could conceivably become more secularized and less vicious. Things are spiraling out of control, and it is not at all certain that the mullahs will be able to clamp down entirely at this point. Certainly the bulk of the opposition to them appears to be just as Islamic and Sharia-oriented as they are, but there are signs — women ripping off their chadors, etc. — that there are other ferments as well. It may be that all the demonstrators want is some relaxation of Sharia enforcement inside the country. But that in itself could open the door to other changes.
“Iran Revolutionary Guard threatens protesters,” by Ali Akbar Dareini and Jim Heintz for AP, June 22 (thanks to Little Green Footballs 2):
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is threatening to crush any further opposition protests over the disputed presidential election and warns demonstrators to prepare for a “revolutionary confrontation” if they take to the streets again.
The country’s most powerful military force ordered demonstrators to “end the sabotage and rioting activities” and said their resistance is a “conspiracy” against Iran.
A statement posted Monday on the Guard’s Web site warned protesters to “be prepared for a resolution and revolutionary confrontation with the Guards, Basij and other security forces and disciplinary forces.”
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi vowed Sunday night to keep up the protests, charging the June 12 election was a fraud….
The former prime minister, a longtime loyalist of the Islamic government, also called the Basij and military “our brothers” and “protectors of our revolution and regime.” He may be trying to constrain his followers’ demands before they pose a mortal threat to Iran’s system of limited democracy constrained by Shiite clerics, who have ultimate authority….
In the clearest sign yet of a splintering among the ayatollahs, state media announced the arrests Sunday of relatives of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani including his daughter Faezeh, a 46-year-old reformist politician vilified by hard-liners for her open support of Mousavi.
Rafsanjani’s relatives, who state media said were held for their own protection, were released after a few hours….